Do You Know A Pathological Liar?

[Poohlovr]

She'd walk a mile to tell a lie when she could stand in place to tell the truth!

That is the exact phrase I always used to describe my ex-SIL. She lied about everything if it could make her look better or more important than everyone else. I always figured that was low self-esteem.

Then there were the lies for attention. Those were whoppers!

A few examples-- she worked in data entry. This was many, many yrs ago--think mid-late 70s.

She told her parents that she wrote a computer porgram for the Dept of the Navy and got paid this huge sum of money for it. Of course, the money never materialized.

Then, there was a time that she told everyone that she was working on a project with the state police. She was supposed to be traveling around the state helping write code for, and putting computers into, the state police patrol cars. Her parents hadn't heard from her in quite some time and got worried, so, one day her dad stopped by a police post near where he worked and asked them if they knew where she was working. The guy looked at him like he had just sprouted a second head. There was no program to put computers in the cars.There was no plan to have a program to put computers into the cars. This guy even called the state capitol to double-check. No one had ever heard of her.
I felt so bad for her dad--he is the salt of the earth and thinks the best of everyone. He was embarassed, totally crushed and confused about why she would do this.

Turned out she was living with a man older than her father and this was her cover story about why she was never home when they called and why they couldn't come visit.

The ultimate story though, was this --she had to get glasses. She had never worn glasses before. But of course, she didn't need glasses just because her eyes were bad---nope, not her. She had to get glasses because she had an inoperable brain tumor that was pressing on the optical nerve. That's why her eyes were bad. And, that tumor was going to kill her in 1-2 yrs. Needless to say, that didn't happen. The only thing that happened was her parents went into panic mode. My then-husband tried to talk to them, but they were having none of it. After all, why would she lie about something like that??

It was just disgusting watching her parents buy into her lies and then tell them to everbody else. Of course, no one else ever believed them. They'd just shake their heads. When the parents weren't around, they'd ask us why she did those things-- Like we knew.

 

[disney50fam]

Yes my ex husband was one!!!!!

 

[delilah]

Personally, I think most sales representatives are pathological liars, or else too stupid to realize the nonsense they are promulgating. Maybe they are a little of both. Since I see several pharmaceutical sales reps during the course of a day, I probably qualify as knowing quite a few.

 

[Laura]

I'm so glad to know I'm not alone in this.
It's hard dealing with a liar sometimes.

 

[AllisonG]

My mom lies about pretty much everything, since I can remember. One of the recent one: I am a chef, I have been for 12 years. Well the other day while dining out she told me 'what would I know about working in a restaurant?'. That really bit my bottom!
Also my aunt has never told the truth in her entire life. She literally lies every moment of her life. At least my mom has moments of truth. But my aunt lies constantly 24/7.
--She has had every cancer known to man, so has her husband
--her husband is a vietnam war hero (nope did the research)
--Her husband is an ordained minister (nope got it out of the back of a magazine)
--she is wealthy and is leaving all her money to her kids (nope, been on welfare since the 70's)
and on and on and on........

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

when i became a supervisor i had an occasion to be in a staff meeting with my former supervisor (still the "liar's" sup) and she started going on about "poor deb-she had to call in today-her mom is in the hospital with a gallbladder attack"-i responded "that's too bad, i had hoped she was on the mend after her funeral last month" (we lived in the same town-her mom passed and she had'nt taken time off)

Classic

 

[mickeyfan2]

Look at him as the daily entertainment. I don't know any pathological liars, but I do know some who will lie to you and you witnessed the whole thing. Why?

 

[4cruisin]

Look at him as the daily entertainment. I don't know any pathological liars, but I do know some who will lie to you and you witnessed the whole thing. Why?

We do find it amusing in a sad sort of way. We always wonder what story he will make up next. The sibling that passed away yesterday was never spoken about because he was in a mental institution. Ah, I think they had the wrong family member locked up there buddy.

 

[ericamanda01]

I just don't understand why some people do this. Is it for attention? If so it seems to me that whenever I encounter someone like this I give them as little attention as possible. It's sad really. But what is irritating are the one-uppers, they drive me insane. A former friend of my DH's was like this. When we told him we were in the Navy, he said that he was asked to join the Navy Seals but he wanted to finish shcool first. First of all the Seal don't come to you (at least not in the case) and second of all he only went to school for one term before he quit. It's just amazing what one-uppers will do. I have done as another posters has done and made up outragous stories to see if the one-upper would try and top me. They did. In those situations all I can do is laugh.

 

[christineann]

My ex told my kids that he was chosen to serve on the jury for the OJ Simpson murder trial in California because the judge wanted the 12 smartest people in the United States on the jury.

1. we live in South Carolina
2. "the 12 smartest people in the United States

 

[Honu]

My ex told my kids that he was chosen to serve on the jury for the OJ Simpson murder trial in California because the judge wanted the 12 smartest people in the United States on the jury.

1. we live in South Carolina
2. "the 12 smartest people in the United States

I just spit water all over my desk.

 

[Marseeya]

My husband's ex-wife is that way. She'd walk a mile to tell a lie when she could stand in place to tell the truth!

I'm afraid it's genetic. My stepdaughter has to struggle to tell the truth. It seems to be so much easier for her to lie. I don't think she even knows why she does it.

I think it's genetic as well! My DH told me when we first got married that he had a problem with lying and had since he was young. It took us years to get through it and it was a very tough battle. I don't know if it's a self-esteem issue or what, but his lies always involve making him look better in some way rather than trying to cover his tracks. My MIL, I've found over the years, is the exact same way. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Can it be a mental illness of sorts?

It breaks my heart to say this, but I see it in my daughter now as well, and we've tried so hard to raise her to tell the truth. She's done things like tell teachers we took a trip to Hawaii, or that we've got friends who live in a mansion.

Loving a liar is hard work. DH and DD are wonderful, sweet, kind people and so worth the effort, but it's really tough to take and to try to maintain respect for them.

 

[barkley]

just remembered one i went to college with-

her one goal in life was to get married and have like 12 kids. she gets pregnant with kid #1 by some shmuck she was dateing, gets engaged but tells him her plans for having "at least 11 more" so he takes off before the wedding. she gets another guy in sight, marries him and when they learn he is sterile a few months later she suddenly tells him she has post traumatic stress disorder from her previous relationship and is uncapable of "peforming her wifely duties"-meanwhile she is lining up (and bedding ) potential papa #3. #3 is an 18 year old "kid" (she was around 26) who has had no previous sexual experience-she tells him "don't worry i'll take birthcontrol pills". to increase her chances for pregnancy she goes to bed with 3 other guys during her fertile time. by the time she found out she was pregnant #3's parents have gotton wise and shipped him off to join the navy. so she picks up a bus driver on the city bus sleeps with him and tells him he's the dad-only problem is he's already married and has had a vasectomy she kind of dropped out of site for several months (i think waiting for a new batch of freshman boys to start class ) and starts working it again-only now she's a "poor young widow"....got to a point if she came up to one of the boys on campus and someone who knew her saw it they would immediatly rush and say "x have you met x HE'S GAY".

over the course of about 5 years she told guys she was divorced, abandoned, widowed, adoptive mother (to her own kids), big sister raising her siblings "temporarily"...last i heard she had about 6 kids and was still looking for "mr. right".

 

[parrothead365]

My boss...if his lips are moving...you know.

 

[momof2inPA]

I had a friend years ago, who lied about everything-- she had two homes, had a boyfriend in the Marines stationed overseas, etc.

When I was preparing for my wedding, she swore she knew these ladies at a shop by her home who could do my alterations. I told her to make an appointment for me and we went there. I changed in the dressing room while she talked to these ladies and they had these bewildered looks on their faces when I came out of the dressing room. They said they didn't do alterations on wedding dresses. This girl was an absolute wacko.

Then, there was a guy a work when I was younger who told everyone we were dating in secret so my fiance wouldn't find out. That was a good one.

A lady at my husband's work was ripped off by her lying husband. He claimed to have an insurance sales job, but he never worked, just robbed her bank accounts and her daughter's college fund while she bought into his stories. They were married for seven years. He would offer Steelers tickets to people like my husband and never pay the original owners for the tickets. Anyway, now the lady is in serious trouble with the IRS, because he claimed to have paid the taxes but never filed them.

 

[KingsFanInRI]

a guy I work with is a real doozie. He has gone so far as to incorporate 9/11 in his repertoire. His sister apparently was in the South Tower and could not get out so he now has her five kids... why doesn't their father have them?
Why, at out company "Kids' Christmas party" did he only bring his natural son?
It goes on and on. This story is just wild.
Another one happened last week when a guy who had a chance to go to the Broncos-Patriots game (He's a Broncos fan) said he would have to shell out $1200.00 to go. Next day our PL mentioned that his father-in-law (he's not even married) had gotten 4 tickets for the game for, you guessed it, $4800.00, or $1200.00 each. Does he not think we will catch on?
There are many more incidents too. I don't get it.

 

[DisneyLovingMama]

My boss. She doesn't tell fantastical strories, but just warps reality slightly to better suit her.

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

I just don't understand why some people do this. Is it for attention? If so it seems to me that whenever I encounter someone like this I give them as little attention as possible. It's sad really. But what is irritating are the one-uppers, they drive me insane. A former friend of my DH's was like this. When we told him we were in the Navy, he said that he was asked to join the Navy Seals but he wanted to finish shcool first. First of all the Seal don't come to you (at least not in the case) and second of all he only went to school for one term before he quit. It's just amazing what one-uppers will do. I have done as another posters has done and made up outragous stories to see if the one-upper would try and top me. They did. In those situations all I can do is laugh.

LOL - Yep along with the unnamed family member who claims to have gotten the GF for $79 a night. Our family is full of "one uppers" They have done everything you have ever done but better , seen everything that you have ever seen but more and got it all at a better price then you will ever get it at - LOL It has to be a self esteem issue with all of them.